Local
Gay Hill staffer testifies at Marine murder trial
Stabbing occurred on Capitol Hill in 2012
A Marine is charged with fatally stabbing a fellow service member outside the Marine Barracks on Capital Hill last year. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
A 29-year-old gay congressional staff member emerged as the star witness this week in a murder trial in D.C. Superior Court of a former U.S. Marine charged with stabbing a fellow Marine to death in April 2012 outside the Marine Barracks on Capitol Hill.
Police and prosecutors charged Pfc. Michael Poth, 21, with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly using a pocketknife to fatally stab Lance Corp. Phillip Bushong, 23, following an altercation on 8th Street, S.E., in which Poth called Bushong an anti-gay name.
Bernard Grimm, Poth’s defense attorney, has argued during the trial, which began on Nov. 14, that his client acted in self-defense after Bushong and Bushong’s friend, gay congressional staffer Nishith Pandya, 29, appeared ready to assault him during the altercation, according to an account by the Washington Post.
The Post reported that Pandya testified that Poth hurled an anti-gay slur at him and Bushong as Poth walked past them while Bushong and Pandya were standing on the sidewalk outside a bar on 8th Street across the street from the Marine Barracks.
Pandya told the jury he was gay and had no idea how Poth knew his sexual orientation when he made the anti-gay slur, the Post reported. Bushong’s family members have said he was not gay. Pandya testified that he and Bushong were “platonic friends,” according to the Post.
Before the trial began, a Marine Barracks spokesperson said Poth was in the process of being discharged under less than honorable circumstances prior to the stabbing incident on grounds that he initiated “verbal altercations” with other Marines and was found to be in possession of a chemical derivative of marijuana.
Other witnesses told police prior to the trial that they saw Poth acting erratically and appeared to be in a heightened state of anger as he walked along 8th Street just before the stabbing incident. A police arrest affidavit said surveillance cameras captured part of the altercation on video, which the Post said was shown to the jury.
In an unusual development, one of the jurors sent a note to Superior Court Judge Russell Canan, who is presiding over the trial, with several questions for Pandya, public records posted on the court’s website shows. It couldn’t immediately be determined if Canan agreed to call Pandya back to the witness stand to answer the juror’s questions.
The trial was expected to continue through most of this week.
Grimm, Poth’s lead defense attorney, served as one of the lead defense attorneys in the 2010 trial of three gay men charged with obstruction of justice and evidence tampering in the widely publicized murder of attorney Robert Wone inside their Dupont Circle area townhouse. A judge found the men not guilty following a non-jury trial.
District of Columbia
Campaign launched to elect more LGBTQ candidates to ANC seats
Capital Stonewall Democrats behind Queering ANCs effort
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, announced on July 7 it has launched a campaign to help elect large numbers of LGBTQ candidates to the city’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.
The D.C. local government is believed to be unique among U.S. cities in currently having 46 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions consisting of 345 single-member districts in neighborhoods throughout the city in which unpaid Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners are elected for two-year terms.
The commissions are charged with considering a wide range of policies and programs impacting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and D.C.’s annual budget, according to the ANC website.
Although the ANCs do not have authority to set or reject policies or proposals, such as applications for liquor licenses, city agencies are required to give “great weight” to ANC recommendations, according to the law creating the ANCs.
Kent Boese, a gay former ANC commissioner, currently serves as executive director of the D.C. Office of ANCs.
“We are launching the most ambitious hyperlocal LGBTQ+ candidate pipeline initiative in the country,” said Stevie McCarty, the Capital Stonewall Democrats president, in a July 7 statement that announced the Queering ANCs campaign.
“As an ANC member, I know firsthand how these seats shape our neighborhoods, from housing and public safety to sanitation,” McCarty says in the statement. “I’m proud to lead this effort to ensure more LGBTQ+ Washingtonians see themselves as leaders in their communities,” he said.
The ANC Rainbow Caucus, which was created by LGBTQ ANC members, shows on its website that there are currently 38 caucus members consisting of elected LGBTQ ANC commissioners serving in the current 2025-2026 two-year term.
The website shows there are LGBTQ commissioners who are caucus members in each of the city’s eight wards, with six in Ward 1, eight in Ward 2, one in Ward 3, six in Ward 4, five in Ward 5, three in Ward 6, eight in Ward 7, and one in Ward 8.
The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately determine how many of them will be running for re-election in D.C.’s general election in November. But McCarty said Capital Stonewall Democrats hopes to recruit many more LGBTQ candidates to run for ANC seats.
The D.C. Board of Elections website shows the deadline for filing 25 required petition signatures to be placed on the ballot is Aug. 5.
A Queering ANCs website launched this week by Capital Stonewall Democrats provides details on how to run for an ANC seat and offers help for those interested in running.
“Think of someone in your building, neighborhood, friend group, community organization, or professional network who cares deeply about D.C. and would make a strong leader,” McCarty says in his statement. “Send them QueeringANCs.org and personally ask them to consider running,” he said.
The website can be accessed at QueeringANCs.org.
Baltimore
Ron Singer, owner of popular Mount Vernon gay bar Leon’s, dies
66-year-old’s funeral to take place Friday
By CAYLA HARRIS | Ron Singer, the owner of Baltimore’s popular gay bar Leon’s Backroom, died Tuesday, the venue announced in a social media post. He was 66.
“For more than 20 years, Ron made Leon’s a place so many people were proud to call home,” the post reads. “He will be deeply missed.”
The Mount Vernon bar, typically open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, is still open Thursday, but doors will close at midnight so staff can attend his funeral Friday morning. Services are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at Sol Levinson’s Chapel.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Mary’s House founder, CEO retires
Dr. Imani Woody played leading role in opening DC’s first home for LGBTQ seniors
The board of directors for Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC’s first official home dedicated to providing affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors, announced on July 7 that its founding president and CEO, Dr. Imani Woody, has retired.
Woody, who holds a PhD in Human Services, is credited with playing a leading role over many years in arranging both city and private funding needed to construct and operate the Mary’s House three-story building located at 401 Anacostia Road, S.E., in the city’s Fort Dupont neighborhood.
The house, which opened in March 2025, with a grand opening ceremony held in May 2025, includes 15 single-occupancy residential units and more than 5,000 square feet of shared communal living space.
“It is with profound gratitude and hearts full of celebration that the board of directors of Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC (MHFOA) announces the retirement of our visionary founder, Dr. Imani Woody, from her role as president and CEO,” the Mary’s House board says in a statement.
“Dr. Woody’s journey with Mary’s House began with her vision and a kitchen table gathering of women with a bold, urgent, and loving vision: to create safe, affirming, affordable housing for LGBTQ/SGL older adults in Washington, DC,” the statement says.
It adds, “What started as a dream has grown into DC’s first affordable LGBTQ+/SGL affirming communal living space for adults 60 and over, a 15-room community residence at 401 Anacostia Road in Southeast Washington.”
The statement says Woody will continue to serve on Mary’s House board.
“The board will be sharing information about the leadership transition process in the coming weeks,” the statement continues. “We are committed to honoring Dr. Woody’s legacy by ensuring Mary’s House continues to thrive and grow in faithful service to LGBTQ/SGL elders experiencing housing insecurity and isolation.”
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